Sholes is credited as the U.S. inventor who developed the typewriter. The inscription on his tomb stone reads: "The Father of the Typewriter. Dedicated by The Young Men and Women of America In Grateful Memory of one who Materially aided in The World's Progress." He was granted a patent for the typewriter on June 23, 1868. Later improvements gained him two more patents, but due to difficulty in raising money for development, he sold his patent rights. In 1873, he sold the rights for $12,000 to the Remington Arms Company, a firm well equipped with machinery and skill to carry out the development work that resulted in the machine being marketed as the Remington Typewriter.The Sholes keyboard is called the QWERTY keyboard because of the ordering of the first six keys in the third row. This arrangement, the Sholes QWERTY keyboard is still used today. (bio by: Allcalmap)